A Japanese researcher who recently created a sensation for reporting that dipping adult cells in acid can easily make them into stem cells is guilty of scientific misconduct, investigators at Japan’s RIKEN Institute announced April 1.

The acid method of making a type of stem cells known as STAP cells (SN: 2/22/14, p. 6) came under fire as soon as it appeared in two papers in Nature at the end of January (SN Online: 2/19/14). Many researchers have tried and failed to repeat the feat (SN Online:...